Two very outstanding people. If you ever met them, it would be difficult to find two adjectives to describe them out of: sympathetic, friendly, helpful, humble, honest, hard-working, cultivated, resourceful, sociable... and others. Here's a little homage to them, Toni and Mercè.

Got it!!

Row 19, seat 6.... I'll be there, Emmylou!

She's coming... and it's for real!!

I was in my teens. I loved music (I still do), and I loved her. I was crazy for Emmylou Harris. Together with my friend Jorge, we used to listen to her warm sweet songs. Her songs were the soundtracks of my love affairs. We wrote a letter to her fan club in the States... and we received a hand written reply!! I still remember, she said: "For Richard, all the best". And she signed it!

I have never forgotten her songs. In fact, I've never stopped listening to them. One of my biggest disappointments in life was when, years ago, one day I got a call from Jorge saying that she was giving a concert in Barcelona. But, just my luck! I was flying to England that very same day with some students from my school... no escape! I felt down in the lumps, but there was nothing I could do... and now she's coming back! I just read it in the newspaper this morning. She will be at Palau Sant Jordi on the 13th of june, together with Mark Knopfler. I've just learned they are about to publish a new record of duets. And they'll be on a tour... and in Barcelona. I'll run for a ticket. And I'll see her on stage. I'm not a teen anymore, but she still makes me tremble like a leave when she sings.

BETT Prizes

The 2006 BETT prizes put their stress on the use of ICT in Education. Here's a link to the winners list. It is worth a visit, believe me.
Click on http://www.becta.org.uk/corporate/display.cfm?section=21&id=4978 and go!

Grief... or rage?

I was going to edit a post about my daughters skiing in the Pyrenees, but I don't have the guts. I've just read the paper and I've come across a piece of news about an american attack. American troops were trying to capture an Al Qaeda member in a town north of Bagdad. All they got was 11 people killed, 5 children amongst them.
Just look at the picture and tell me if all this is worth. Innocent children dead because of political interests.. who is the criminal?
I can only think of my daughters... and the picture. And you?

The photograph belongs to REUTERS Agency

Beware!!

I've just sent an invitation to visit this blog. Don't be afraid to leave your imprint! The only thing that could happen was that I could set Mònica loose... she's wild!!

On to the next!!

I was there... not a hairpin could fit into the stadium. And it was worth! Barça played a serious and intelligent game against a team who wasn't able to carry out his role: Chelsea didn't know how to take up their task; they had to create and attack... but there was no siege in Valdez's area, no missed chances. They show the way they can only play... hidden behind the midfield line, waiting for a mistake. But theirs was the mistake. Football must be something else, and the red and blue in front tried to show that... and Ronaldinho took over Messi and succeeded. Football at its best. So... now on to the next match!

Do they really know?... or don't they?

I'm having a bad time lately. Everything's fine at home, at work, even at my wednesday's football matches ( I even get to score!) The thing is... there's some people who are trying to make a fuss of my little country. We catalans want to be ourselves. That could mean different things: Some would like to live on their own, out of spanish bonds and with Catalonia's own State system. In other words: They want to be independent. Some others want to show that, even though they might feel Catalonia is a part of Spain, they want to make sure they are not left aside as a simple outer satellite of Madrid. They claim for recognition of their own identity within a multilingual and multicultural country like Spain. That takes money, and money is what catalans give to the state every year. But they want to see some more of it reinvested in their own territory, and they want to decide what they are going to give to the Spanish government in order to contribute to the future of Spain. These two options might be right or wrong, but they are legitimate.
Last september, the autonomous catalan government voted a new legislation to administrate the territory in terms of economy, society and all aspects of the country: a new "Estatut". This law is being negotiated in Madrid now, and the spanish conservative party PP is trying to make a benefit out of that. Their aim is to defeat Zapatero's socialist government. In order to achieve that goal, they claim that the negotiations for the catalan "Estatut" will lead to the disappearance of Spain as a national entity. Former Prime Minister José Maria Aznar says Spain will enter a process of "Balkanisation" that will lead to the destruction of Spain. Conservative radio stations and newspapers are giving out biased comments trying to make the rest of the country believe all catalans want to destroy Spain, that spanish is an endangered language within Catalonia (more than 98% of catalans speak it, in front of the scarce 70% of catalan bilingual speakers). This strategy of constant attack and confrontation will achieve nothing but the creation of a crack between Catalonia and the rest of Spain. Many spaniards will not fall for that, but a large number of people are beginning to believe that Catalonia is at the verge of a conflict where Spanish speakers will be taken to concentration camps.
Is the victory in the elections and the fight for the power worth the division of a country?
I know it isn't, but I want to feel comfortable in the big home of Spain, not like an alien. If catalans are treated like enemies, they will probably decide to leave the big family alone.